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Inequality stagnation in Latin America in the aftermath of the global financial crisis

Author

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  • Cord, Louise
  • Barriga Cabanillas, Oscar
  • Lucchetti, Leonardo
  • Rodriguez-Castelan, Carlos
  • Sousa, Liliana D.
  • Valderrama, Daniel

Abstract

Over the past decade (2003-12), Latin America has experienced strong income growth and a notable reduction in income inequality, with the region's Gini coefficient falling from 55.6 to 51.8. Previous studies have warned about the sustainability of such a decline, and this paper presents evidence of stagnation in the pace of reduction of income inequality in Latin America since 2010. This phenomenon of stagnation is robust to different measures of inequality and is largely attributable to the impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Mexico and Central America, where inequality rose after 2010 as labor income recovered. Moreover, this paper finds evidence that much of the continuation of inequality reduction after the crisis at the country level has been due to negative or zero income growth for households in the top of the income distribution, and lower growth of the incomes of the poorest households. The crisis also highlighted weaknesses in the region's labor markets and the heavy reliance on public transfers to redistribute, underscoring the vulnerability of the region's recent social gains to global economic conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Cord, Louise & Barriga Cabanillas, Oscar & Lucchetti, Leonardo & Rodriguez-Castelan, Carlos & Sousa, Liliana D. & Valderrama, Daniel, 2014. "Inequality stagnation in Latin America in the aftermath of the global financial crisis," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7146, The World Bank.
  • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7146
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    Cited by:

    1. Pablo Acosta & Guillermo Cruces & Sebastian Galiani & Leonardo Gasparini, 2019. "Educational upgrading and returns to skills in Latin America: evidence from a supply–demand framework," Latin American Economic Review, Springer;Centro de Investigaciòn y Docencia Económica (CIDE), vol. 28(1), pages 1-20, December.
    2. German Feierherd & Patricio Larroulet & Wei Long, & Nora Lustig, 2021. "The Pink Tide and Inequality in Latin America," Working Papers 2105, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    3. López-Calva, Luis Felipe & Levy Algazi, Santiago, 2016. "Labor Earnings, Misallocation, and the Returns to Education in Mexico," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 7454, Inter-American Development Bank.
    4. Gasparini, Leonardo & Galiani, Sebastian & Cruces, Guillermo & Acosta, Pablo A., 2011. "Educational Upgrading and Returns to Skills in Latin America: Evidence from a Supply-Demand Framework, 1990-2010," IZA Discussion Papers 6244, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Bruno Martorano, 2018. "Taxation and Inequality in Developing Countries: Lessons from the Recent Experience of Latin America," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(2), pages 256-273, March.
    6. Rodriguez Castelan,Carlos & Lopez-Calva,Luis-Felipe & Lustig,Nora & Valderrama,Daniel, 2016. "Understanding the dynamics of labor income inequality in Latin America," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7795, The World Bank.
    7. Bargain, Olivier & Jara, H. Xavier & Rivera, David, 2024. "Tax disincentives to formal employment in Latin America," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 125368, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    8. Pessino, Carola & Izquierdo, Alejandro & Vuletin, Guillermo, 2018. "Better Spending for Better Lives: How Latin America and the Caribbean Can Do More with Less," IDB Publications (Books), Inter-American Development Bank, number 9152, November.
    9. Bruno Martorano, 2018. "Taxation and Inequality in Developing Countries: Lessons from the Recent Experience of Latin America," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(2), pages 256-273, March.
    10. Manuel Fernández & Gabriela Serrano, 2022. "New Perspectives on Inequality in Latin America," Documentos CEDE 20295, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    11. Oscar Molina Tejerina & Luis Castro Peñarrieta, 2020. "Unexplained Wage Gaps in the Tradable and Nontradable Sectors: Cross-Sectional Evidence by Gender in Bolivia," Investigación & Desarrollo, Universidad Privada Boliviana, vol. 20(1), pages 5-23.
    12. Branko Milanovic, 2022. "After the Financial Crisis: The Evolution of the Global Income Distribution Between 2008 and 2013," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 68(1), pages 43-73, March.
    13. Juan F. Guerra‐Salas, 2018. "Latin America'S Declining Skill Premium: A Macroeconomic Analysis," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 56(1), pages 620-636, January.
    14. Olivier Bargain & H. Xavier Jara & David Rodriguez, 2017. "Learning from your neighbor: tax-benefit systems swaps in Latin America," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 15(4), pages 369-392, December.
    15. Juan Guerra-Salas, 2016. "Fiscal Policy, Sectoral Allocation, and the Skill Premium: Explaining the Decline in Latin America’s Income Inequality," Working Papers Central Bank of Chile 779, Central Bank of Chile.
    16. Julian Messina & Joana Silva, 2018. "Wage Inequality in Latin America," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 28682.
    17. Leopoldo Tornarolli & Matías Ciaschi & Luciana Galeano, 2018. "Income Distribution in Latin America. The Evolution in the Last 20 Years: A Global Approach," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0234, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    18. Sinem Sefil-Tansever, 2017. "Income Distribution in Turkey during the Global Financial Crisis," Research in Applied Economics, Macrothink Institute, vol. 9(3), pages 91-107, September.
    19. Anderson, Edward, 2022. "The correlates of declining income inequality among emerging and developing economies during the 2000s," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    20. Leonardo Gasparini & Guillermo Cruces & Leopoldo Tornarolli, 2016. "Chronicle of a Deceleration Foretold: Income inequality in Latin America in the 2010s," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0198, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    21. repec:idq:ictduk:12799 is not listed on IDEAS
    22. Jorge Garza-Rodriguez & Gustavo A. Ayala-Diaz & Gerardo G. Coronado-Saucedo & Eugenio G. Garza-Garza & Oscar Ovando-Martinez, 2021. "Determinants of Poverty in Mexico: A Quantile Regression Analysis," Economies, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-24, April.

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    Keywords

    Inequality; Poverty Impact Evaluation; Services&Transfers to Poor; Income; Regional Economic Development;
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